


'Danny is pissed off'

by W5Lex



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: First Kiss, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-05-16
Updated: 2013-10-18
Packaged: 2017-11-05 11:33:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/405937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/W5Lex/pseuds/W5Lex
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Coda to ep 2.23. Steve arrives back in Hawaii, Danny's not too pleased with the amount of contact they've had in the meantime. Steve/Danny slash.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: First off, a huge thank you to Jerseybelle over on FF.n for being a brilliant beta on this. Secondly, I’m well aware I’ve completely glossed over pretty much everything from that finale in this fic, and taken Shelburne pretty lightly, but the purpose of this was fluff with a little humor, so here you go…
> 
> WARNING: Spoilers for the season 2 finale if you hadn’t already guessed…

Danny is pissed off.

Again.

But we’ll start with the good.

Adam was the one to save Kono. Apparently Frank Delano’s little friend hadn’t noticed the cell phone in Kono’s hand. That or he hadn’t quite realized just who the man she’s dating is. Because there are very few people in the world with the resources and the balls to mess with Adam Noshimuri.

But right now, the man is in Danny’s good books, because he’s pretty sure that there are only two people in the world that may have been able to save Kono at that point, and the other is on his way back from Japan.

As for Malia, nothing serious. ‘Worse than it looked’ the doctors had said. Danny’s been in to see her once, but she’s reached the point of telling everyone but Chin to politely fuck right off with the promise of a party at their place when everybody is healthy and back where they should be.

And then there’s Grace.

And this marks the beginning of the bad, because Stan and Rachel refuse to back down over the custody agreement, and Danny had been genuinely hoping that it wouldn’t get to this point, that he wouldn’t have to pay a lawyer to dig up every bit of dirt on Rachel and her husband, but rarely does Danny Williams get his way when it comes to matters of the heart. Doesn’t mean he’s given up; might not even mean he’s fighting a losing battle. Danny will wait until Steve is back to decide how he’s rating his odds on this one.

And _this_ , well this marks the beginning of…Danny doesn’t even know what. The good, the bad? Danny’s going to settle on the _okay_ for the moment, because Steve’s being even more elusive than usual for the time being, evading calls and the like.

And then there’s the text he’s just received.

_Just landed at HI, pick me up?_

And that…fuck. Danny doesn’t even know how to express what he’s feeling right now into words. Anger? Annoyance? Relief? Love? All of the above.

Danny shakes his head to the miserably empty excuse for an apartment and grabs his keys. With Chin refusing to leave Malia’s bedside, Kono still recovering in the bed next door, and the leader of Five-0 having disappeared with the increasingly suspicious Joe White, the task force has been temporarily shut down. And who can blame the governor, hey? It’s not like they deal in petty crimes, oh no, they pick the good stuff. The cases that require their team to get shot several times, the cases that require their team to ‘borrow’ several million dollars, and the cases that too-frequently result in one or more of their members or significant others in hospital or kidnapped.

Danny keeps to the speed limit, smirking a little bit as he imagines the reaction this kind of driving would pull from Steve were he in the car. Honolulu International isn’t far though, and he’s parked up in the short-stay parking within fifteen minutes, feeling slightly naked as he strides towards- Well, he’s not really sure where. The airport’s not nearly as busy as usual because of the date and time of day, and he figures Steve will find him soon enough. Anyway, the lack of a gun and badge is leaving him feeling exposed and vulnerable.

Any worries of the kind quickly slide away though when he sees Steve across the terminal, meeting his gaze with that patented half smirk and looking behind him for a bag…or something else. Some _one_ else.

Danny waits patiently for them to make it over, completely ignoring whoever Steve’s companion is as he pulls out his cell phone and unlocks the screen.

“You fucking jackass, Steven.” He holds the phone up, the screen displaying the message he received from Steve not twenty minutes ago.

“What the hell were you thinking, Steve? You think-“

“Danny-“

“No-“

“ _Danny_ -“

“I said _no,_ Steven! Shut the fuck up and listen to me!” Danny’s well aware that his voice is puncturing the relative quiet of the building, but he couldn’t give two shits right now. The woman with Steve still stands ignored by his side.

Steve does that face, that fucking _gorgeous_ face where he just crosses his arms over his chest and waits, face arranged into a boyish smirk as he makes it perfectly clear that he’s allowing Danny to go on in the name of appeasement. Danny doesn’t care _how_ he gets his quiet though, as long as he gets it.

Steve makes a rolling hand gesture for Danny to continue.

“What the fuck is this, huh?” He’s still holding the phone up for Steve to see. “What? You think that when I said last time that a _Dear Danno_ letter wasn’t fucking good enough, you thought, a call would be better, did you? And then when you couldn’t get hold of me, you didn’t think to leave a message, a _proper_ message, and I mean something a little more than _Gone to Japan, D. See u in a few days._ ” Danny flicks to the last message from Steve as he reads it out, free hand moving wildly as it punctuates the words for emphasis.

“Is this something we’re doin’ here, huh? What do I get next time? A video? A video that leaves me worrying for days that you’ve been forced to record proof of life under duress, that what’s gonna happen?”

“No.”

“No? _No_ , he says. No what, Steven? ‘Cause that ain’t gonna cut it!”

“No, I won’t leave again without telling you first, or clearing it, or whatever. Can we just- Can we ignore that for a second, just give me ten minutes to readjust?”

“No.”

“Fine. What if I apologize?” Steve claps his hands together as he says it, leaning forward and far too close into Danny’s personal space, enough that Danny can feel the gaze of Steve’s companion on him.

“Maybe.”

“I’m sorry, Danny. Really, I’m sorry. That better?”

Danny shrugs. “Maybe.” Even _he_ can feel his own eyes soften though, his posture relax slightly as a little of the tension bleeds out of him. “Your apology has been noted, acceptance is pending.”

Steve turns his head to the floor, but Danny can see the grin that’s erupted despite the long hours spent on a plane; the grin that comes out only for a select few.

“Okay, you let me know now.” Steve lifts his head again, hands spread as the smile shifts into something a little more subdued. “So, do I get a hug or what?”

Danny lets the pretense drop immediately, tired of pretending that seeing Steve back on Oahu doesn’t make him the happiest man alive. Tired of pretending that he hasn’t forgotten every single one of his other problems just for the moment.

“Yeah. C’mere, y’goof.” They both take a small step forwards, meeting each other halfway as Danny lifts one arm above Steve’s shoulder, the other curling around his midriff as he feels Steve do the same. If he shuts his eyes and savors the moment just for a second or two, well you can blame it on the sleepless nights the idiot has inadvertently inflicted upon him.

They pull away after a few too many seconds, and Steve gives Danny the once over with his eyes.

“What?” Danny sighs, because Steve is smirking a little too much for his liking.

“Nothing.” He waves a hand towards Danny. “Jeans and t-shirt, looks good on you, that’s all.”

Danny gives an exaggerated nod and finally lets his eyes drift to Steve’s companion as he clears his throat a little. They’ve only been ignoring her for a minute, but the way she’s looking at them, amusement in her eyes, makes Danny feel like she’s been watching them intently for every second.

She looks familiar. From where, Danny can’t quite remember, but he’s near certain that he’s seen her before.

Steve looks to her once, licks his lips as he turns back to Danny and gestures to the lady.

“Danny, Doris. Mom, my partner, Danny.”

Danny pinches himself once, to make sure he’s not dreaming, or hallucinating, or doing something else that would explain this entirely strange experience. It feels like there’s been too much of this going on recently, what with their ‘dead’ murderer just a few days ago, and now this…

Danny hates that sometimes wit is his reflex reaction, but he can’t help it.

He just nods and swallows once before flicking his wrist in her direction. “Your mother?”

Steve nods.

“Your _dead_ mother?”

Steve nods.

“Wow, babe. She looks good.” Steve lets out a breathy laugh as he pinches the bridge of his nose, and, though Danny thinks he really must be going at least a little bit insane, it makes sense now; the familiarity. Danny _has_ seen her before, the very woman sitting on Steve’s mantelpiece at home, her husband with an arm draped around her on a summer’s -- not necessarily, could have been Christmas Day for all Danny knows -- day on the beach.

Danny turns his gaze back to the woman introduced as Doris McGarrett and silently wracks his brain for any tidbit of information Steve has given him over the past two years that could point to Steve’s mom having a twin…a very _identical_ twin.

Steve is watching him though, just waiting for the second wave of Danny’s reaction.

Danny swipes a hand through the air, shoves the other in his pocket in a stance that is so _Danny_ it makes Steve want to hug him all over again.

“So let me get this straight… You mean to tell me that _this_ ,” -- another gesture to the female companion -- “is your mother?” Steve nods again. “The very same mother who was in fact murdered when you were sixteen?” Steve nods again. “Okay, babe, listen. Forgive me for my skepticism, but you’re gonna have to give me a little more explanation, because call me simple, but I just don’t understand.”

Steve breaks into another wide grin and yeah, that look they share right there is all the proof Danny needs that this woman is indeed Doris McGarrett.

Doris drops her bag to the floor and her smile grows as she reaches out a slender hand, voice more musical than Danny had been expecting as she speaks.

“Detective Williams, I presume?” Danny nods, eyes betraying his complete confusion. “Listen, I know that you’ve been through-“

Danny just watches as Steve interrupts with a gentle hand to her arm, a few low words as he smiles at her. “Mom, trust me. This is gonna be much easier if I just get it all right out. He’s…impatient-“

“And invisible? I’m still here, y’know.”

“Right.” Steve turns back to him, face gaining some composure with the movement. “Okay, here it goes. Joe came back to the office when you were with Grace. He said he wanted to take me to Shelburne. We flew to Japan; he pointed me towards the right door and disappeared after I knocked. Then, well- Then this happened.”

“S- So, this is really your mother? I mean, we are _far_ from finished with this…but this is Doris McGarrett?”

Steve nods, and Danny looks back over to her for an appraising glance before holding out a hesitant hand. “In which case, it’s very nice to meet you. Steve’s said- Well, you know how he is, he’s said very little about you.”

Doris nods and takes the hand with a wide smile that resembles her son’s. Steve may have got his father’s eyes, but he’s certainly inherited Doris’s smile.

“Nice to meet you, too. Yeah, he hasn’t changed much in twenty years.” Danny might have imagined the wince from Steve at mention of that, but he ignores it as he finds Doris still smiling at him, as though trying to figure him out a little better.

“And, uh, sorry about that. What can I say? The guy winds me up.”

Doris just nods, and Steve points to the bags on the floor.

“You gonna take us home then, come for dinner or something? I might have to order in…”

Danny nods and grabs the bag at Doris’s feet. “Uh, nah it’s fine. I’ll leave you two-“

Doris shakes her head, looking at Steve as she does. “No, no. You stay. Steve and I have had a good few days alone, and you two look like you’ve missed each other.” Danny and Steve share a glance, both considering whether to bother trying to deny that. Needless to say, they both decide against the wasted effort, opting for another smile instead.

“In which case, yeah, I’ll stay. There’s food in the fridge-“

“Been cooking frittatas again, Danno?”

Danny makes the mature decision to ignore the snark. “There’s food in the fridge, but pizza wouldn’t go amiss.” Steve nods as he pockets his passport -- the man always travels light -- and they head towards the exit. “No getting me drunk though, I need to be home so I can pick up Grace tomorrow.” Steve looks over, the questions burning in his eyes at the mention of Grace. “Okay, maybe one drink.” That’s comment enough on how things have moved along in the few days Steve has been gone.

Doris is already in the backseat by the time Danny and Steve have the case in the back of the car, and Steve can tell she’s getting a feel for things, quieter than she’s been the last few days because she’s trying to figure Danny out. He _is_ perplexing at times, Steve’s man enough to admit it.

Steve holds out his hands for the keys, and an extremely strong case can be made for an attempt at sarcasm on Danny’s part here. He just rolls his eyes though, lets out a loud sigh as he, yet again, finds himself in the passenger seat of _his_ car. It’s nice though, familiar, _normal_.

“Isn’t this your car, Danny?”

Danny laughs and settles back as he watches Steve adjust the seat and mirrors. “Okay, clearly a few things have changed. I’m afraid your boy has some serious control issues.” Steve slips out of the parking space _way_ too quickly as the words leave Danny’s mouth, as though _daring_ him to continue. “Like driving my car, for instance.”

They settle into quiet for a moment before Danny shifts in his seat. “So, how have you been for the last twenty years, Doris?” It still sounds absurd, but Danny shuts up as Steve interrupts, gives a slightly more thorough explanation of the last twenty years for the duration of the drive home.

“So, what, you’re not angry? Not furious that your mom has been alive all this time? Because I gotta say, Steve, that doesn’t sound like you.” Danny merely murmurs the words as they walk into the house, Doris already having been sent out to take a seat on the lanai. She’s taking a good look around the back yard, the first port of call, apparently.

Steve shrugs as he pulls three Longboards out of the fridge, Danny hot on his heels. “What’s the point? I can’t fault their reasoning, even if I think it’s flawed. They did it to protect me, and even I’ll admit we’d probably all be dead if they hadn’t. Joe lied to me…a lot, but I’ll still thank him when I see him again. And as for Mom, I’ve already lost almost twenty years, D. I don’t want to waste any more time being angry at her for something she thought was right.”

Danny nods. It’s predictably rational. _Too_ rational, in Danny’s book, but he’ll stand by Steve, no matter what.

Danny spends the next hour or so on the verge of interrogation, asking Steve’s mother questions about the last twenty years, as well as all of the years before that. Steve asks after Five-0 and Malia over dinner, and Danny gives him the latest. He’s still avoiding the topic of Grace though, waiting for a more private moment to ask about Danny’s little girl.

Doris leans forwards on the table about an hour after they’re done with dinner, brow creased as she looks between them both.

“If you want me to butt out, then say so. And I hope I’m not stepping totally out of line by asking this, but…are you two…y’know…are you two dating?” Danny and Steve share a look, both letting out a sigh as Danny’s hand gestures go wild again.

“Why the hell does everyone assume we’re either dating or married, Steven? Is it you, because I’ve never had this problem until now?”

Danny watches as Doris opens her mouth and promptly closes it again.

“What are you talking about? You’re the one with the hair, you’re the sensitive one!”

“Yeah, okay. I’m also the one with the ex-wife, Steven.”

The conversation dissolves into something totally unrelated then, but Danny is getting to his feet ten minutes later, grabbing his cell phone from the table as Steve follows him towards the door.

“She’s really back then, huh? Alive and everything.” Steve just nods, smiling at his feet as they approach the door. “I’m happy for you, man.”

“Yeah. Listen, Danny, you gonna tell me what’s going on with Stan and Rachel? With Grace?”

Danny turns at the door, shoving his hands in his pockets as Steve leans easily against the doorframe, arms cross against his chest.

He lets out a loud sigh before talking. “Yeah. They’re going ahead with the appeal to change the agreement I’ve lawyered up, hired a grateful hotshot that Honolulu PD helped out back when I was still working homicide over there. He’s given me a reduced rate, promises to put up a good fight against Rachel’s proposed custody changes. I don’t know if it will help though. I haven’t seen Grace since the day you left, and Rachel hadn’t told her yet, so I don’t even know how _she_ feels. If she wants to go, then I don’t see that there’s much I can do.”

Steve runs a hand down Danny’s shoulder briefly before re-crossing it.

“And you’re picking Grace up tomorrow?”

“Yeah.”

“Will you bring her over, just for an hour? Haven’t seen her in a while.”

“Sure. Was that time limit for your sake or ours? ‘Cause you know she’d love to see you.” Not to mention that Danny’s not too opposed to the idea of a day with Steve.

Steve grins sheepishly. “You wanna come for longer?”

“We’ll come straight from Rachel’s. Eleven okay?”

Steve nods. “Bring her bathing suit. We’ll swim.”

“Yeah, okay.” Danny stares at him for a moment, and it lingers for a little longer than it should, neither of them quite having faced up to this thing between them yet; the elephant in the room. “It’s good to have you back.”

“Yeah, good to _be_ back, Danno.”

Danny turns into the night then, readjusting the mirrors and the seat before firing up the engine and heading home to his own bed.

Steve waits a few seconds before shutting the door and turning to find his mother milling around in the kitchen, no doubt eavesdropping on the conversation.

She smiles as he walks in, and it’s comforting and familiar and Steve doesn’t bother resisting the urge to plant a hand on her shoulder, just to check to make sure all of this is still real, not a sick trick his mind has conjured up due to the disaster of the few days preceding his trip to Japan.

Doris speaks soft and clear, dumping a couple of plates in the sink.

“Who’s Grace?”

Steve smiles to her back involuntarily.

“Danny’s daughter. You’ll meet her tomorrow. She’s brilliant, you’ll love her.”

Doris is silent for another few seconds before she turns, a glint in her eye as she dries a cup with a tea towel.

“You realize that what you and Danny are doing, it’s a relationship, right?” Steve bites down on his lip and averts his gaze, neglects to mention that whilst he wholeheartedly disagrees with that for the moment, it doesn’t mean it isn’t what he’d _like_ it to be. “I mean, you may not be living together -- though it’s close, by the sounds of it -- or sleeping together, but you care about each other. And you care about Grace. Just as much as me and your father cared about each other. And you and Mary.”

Steve flushes a little at how easy he is to read. For his mother, at least. There’s no doubt that he loves them both, maybe too much for his own good. But the fact that his mother has it figured out in a matter of hours, that’s just worrisome, what with the Navy SEAL training and all…


	2. Chapter 2

“Sorry. Rachel was being…y’know.” Steve moves out of the way of the door for Grace and Danny, letting them walk straight into the living room where his mother sits on the couch, TV on in front of her.

She turns at the voices and gets up, walking around the sofa as Grace holds onto Danny’s hand.

She lets go as Steve kneels though, wrapping her slender arms around his neck as Steve holds onto her for a few seconds, breathing in the strawberry shampoo and the innocent warmth before holding her gently by the shoulders and looking up at his mom.

“So, did Danno explain a few things on the way over?”

Danny and Grace both nod. “Okay, good. So this is Doris, my mom.”

Grace gives a shy smile and a wave hello, and Steve shoves her gently towards the stairs.

“Go on up to the bathroom, Gracie.” He’s already changed into board shorts and a t-shirt in preparation, and the three of them walk outside to the peeling white deckchairs, Grace joining them a couple of minutes later.

Steve makes a pointed look down to Danny’s shorts, the familiar faded blue board shorts that always sit so tantalizingly low on his hips.

“You swimming, Danno?”

He looks down, nose wrinkling as Danny considers whether he should regret the decision to wear them.

“Danno?” Grace asks, and Steve just grins, because all three of them know just how manipulative Grace can be when it comes to getting Danny in the water and her voice is just as purposefully vulnerable and pleading as it had been the last time Danny caved.

“Ugh, Monkey! Why are you doing this to me, babe. Fine.”

Doris shoots all three of them a raised eyebrow. “You coming?” Steve asks, but Doris just shakes her head and waves them away as she lies back in the sand, soaking in the sun as she shuts her eyes to the light.

Danny and Steve both whip off their t-shirts, eyes maybe lingering for a little longer than they should before Grace runs in the direction of the ocean and they set off in pursuit, timing their run so that they catch up as they all splash in together. Steve ducks his head long enough that Grace is giggling, hands searching the water until she comes across Steve’s head, grabbing his arm and pulling his head above the water so that she can splash him.

She’s got her legs wrapped around Danny for a few minutes before initiating a game of ‘SEALs,’ whereby Steve is the menacing ‘seal’ more commonly replaced by a gnarly shark with most kids. It’s basically an elaborate game of tag that involves Steve underwater for stupidly long lengths of time, catching Danny and Grace by the legs until they all inevitably tire of it.

“Uncle Steve?” Grace begins as they it back down by the white chairs. He lays a towel around her shoulders as he looks at her to continue. Doris is sat up now, chatting quietly to Danny as he recounts the story of how they met from _his_ point of view.

“Yeah, Grace?”

“Can you stop Mommy and Stan from moving to Las Vegas?”

Doris and Danny both stop talking, attention turned back to Steve and Danny’s daughter as Steve shoots them a brief look. “Why, you don’t want to go there?”

Grace shakes her head as she looks at him with wide eyes. “No. I want to stay here with you and Danno. If I go to Las Vegas, then we won’t have any more movie nights, and you’ll always be busy at work, and I’ll _never_ see Chin and Kono.”

“Grace, you’ll see all of us no matter what, we love you.” Nobody even bats an eyelid at that; it’s painfully obvious and written all over Steve’s face. “You might just get to see us a little less.”

“Yeah, but I don’t _want_ to see you less. And I don’t want to change schools, because I’ll have to make new friends, and-“

“Hey, Grace.” Steve catches her hand as it flies through the air. “It’ll be fine-“

“No, it won’t, Uncle Steve!” Grace is descending far too quickly into a state of hysteria, and the look on Danny’s face suggests they may have already had this conversation a couple of times before.

“I want to stay with you! I want to stay here with you and Danno!”

Steve opens his mouth to say something, but he pauses and glances down at Grace before lifting his hands to cover Grace’s ears as he lowers his voice and looks over her head.

“You know, if Grace is this reluctant, this custody thing may not be such a problem. I know you don’t want to use this against Rachel, but if she complains enough about it and threatens to ask to stay here with you,” -- _us_ \-- “then Rachel may have to cave.”

Danny cocks his head. It’s a tactic he doesn’t want to employ, but at this rate he won’t be able to stop Grace from making the threat to her mother anyway.

Steve retracts the hands. “Grace, listen, me and Danno and Kono and Chin, we’re gonna do everything we can to make sure you get to stay here, okay. Remember, who are we?”

“Five-0.”

“Right. And what are we?”

“The best!”

“Right. So don’t worry about it, alright. Danno and I will sort it out.”

Danny nods a smile of thanks over her head, and Doris points to the bucket upturned in the sand. “Hey, Grace. When Steve and Mary were young, they used to spend hours making sandcastles, with moats and rivers and turrets. How about we have a go?”

Grace beams and nods, and they crawl over to begin working, taking a break for lunch and sun screen and then continuing all the way until the worst of the heat begins to wind down.

Doris walks back out onto the lanai a little later following a shower upstairs, a soft smile gracing her lips as she sees her son. Joe White had warned her of how Steve had hardened after time in the military, the regime and the ‘death’ of both parents making him less willing to show his softer side.

Apparently Danny and Grace are the exception to that rule, because you’d never guess as much now, with Steve lying in the hammock, Grace tucked into his side with one hand sprawled over his chest.

They’re both dozing, one long arm keeping Grace close to Steve’s side as his chest rises and falls in sync with hers.

Doris suspects her son is in love with Danny.

Maybe it’s the problem with affection that Joe had warned about, maybe it’s the fact that Danny’s a guy, but something is holding him back. Most of all, Doris suspects it’s the potential loss of a best friend and surrogate daughter, because she has no doubt that Steve wants more than that friendship. She may not have seen him for twenty years, but Doris McGarrett still knows her son.

She keeps her footsteps light as she moves closer, nudging Steve gently on the shoulder. He’s awake immediately, Navy training stopping him from any movement but the opening of his eyes as he gets his bearings for a second.

“Hmmm?”

Doris smiles down at him, then points towards the water where Danny stands, waves lapping at his bare feet as he looks into the distance.

“You should tell him, y’know. Now.” Steve slowly turns his head, careful not to wake Grace as he looks to the undeniable subject of his affections.

Steve doesn’t even bother to deny it. He’s past that.

So he nods, making all of Grace’s movements as gradual as possible as he slides off of the hammock, lowering the side that was leant against Steve to the material slowly so as not to jostle her too much.

When she’s lying unsupported and still asleep, Steve turns and walks towards the figure in the distance, positive that Danny has heard his approach as he stops right next to him. He’s got his hands in his pockets, still looking out across the water as Danny watches him.

“Stop making the face,” Danny says, and Steve’s ‘face’ transforms into a smile.

“Hey, I wanted to tell you something.”

Danny nods, turning to Steve, now face to face and far too close for Steve to even consider backing out now.

Steve opens his mouth, but Danny’s eyes are glistening in the moonlight, and he’s waiting patiently for Steve to say something, and so Steve just does it. He couldn’t care less if his mother is watching from the lanai; he lifts a hand to Danny’s neck to steady himself, then leans down and presses his lips to Danny’s in a firm kiss.

He pulls away slowly after just a second, testing the waters to see if Danny is going to punch him and never speak to him again.

Danny looks a little wide-eyed, a little surprised. But he finally takes his hands out of his pockets, rests one hand on Steve’s hip while the other thumb strokes along his jaw, and Danny pulls him into another kiss, this one open-mouthed and passionate, but still patient, no urgency beyond the desire to taste more of each other.

Steve runs his tongue along the curve of Danny’s lips, lets out a quiet groan as Danny sucks his bottom one for just a moment before they pull away, foreheads resting together as Steve’s smile grows a little.

“Don’t leave me,” Danny murmurs, and Steve knows what he’s asking for here. He’s disappeared without any proper notice twice in the past month, and he can’t blame the guy for being angry. He can just imagine the bloodshed that a disappearing act from Danny could have led to.

Steve shakes his forehead against Danny’s. “Ditto. And I’m not going anywhere.” He swallows the grin that’s threatening to surface. “And we’ll fight this together, yeah? Grace, there’s no way she’s leaving the island.”

Danny nods, but Steve already knows what he’d do if Danny _were_ forced to uproot to Las Vegas; he’d follow them.

Steve pulls away and looks into Danny’s eyes for a second. The blond nods, and Steve wraps an arm around Danny’s waist and pulls his body flush up against his own, lips meeting for a good few seconds before the exchange dissolves into a tight hug, full of promises.

“Just promise you’ll warn me properly? If you’re gonna take off, warn me?” Danny’s words are muffled as he speaks them into the material covering Steve’s shoulder.

“I promise to try.”

Danny smiles. It’s not perfect, and it’s not the promise Danny was looking for. It’s better though. It’s a promise Steve will keep, and it doesn’t matter that it may not cover every possible scenario. In practice, it’ll probably end up being the same thing anyway, so Danny breathes in the scent of his partner, and lets the rest of the tension drain from his body. He can handle this.


	3. Chapter 3

Okay, first off, this isn't a new chapter. The fic is complete, and this is more of a notification than anything else.

I know I've spoken to a few of my readers about this already, and they'd shown interest, so I decided to add a post to the end of this fic. I have written a full length book. I totally understand if you're now scrabbling for the back button on your browser, so I'll be quick and to the point.

The book is called, 'Disparities,' self-published for Kindle under the pen name Elizabeth Cartwright. Here's a blurb:

_Essentially on their own after the death of their mother, Lucy and Riley Rossen are left with little choice but to travel all the way to Hawaii to live with a man they barely know. As it turns out, their mother's high school friend is a multi-billionaire with more compassion than they could possibly have expected, and it’s there that they fall into a life with Skylar Anderton and his two closest friends. But Lucy fears she may jeopardize what they’ve found when she falls for Anderton’s nineteen year old protégé, and so she quickly realizes that this new life may not be quite as easy as she’d hoped._

_  
_Check the price in your region, but it's of a reasonable price everywhere as far as I know. I completely understand if you're interested but don't want to pay. In THAT case, follow me on social media. The book will be free at some point within the next couple of weeks, and I'll notify on Tumblr/Facebook/Twitter when I know when that day will be.

Obviously from my perspective I'd love for people to buy it, but I understand not everyone has the money, or even likes my writing that much.

Here's how to find me:

Facebook - search for the page Elizabeth Cartwright.

Tumblr - ellie.cartwright

Twitter - Cartwright_El

 

I think that's everything. If you made it to the end, thank you so much <3 I love you all :)


	4. Chapter 4

Okay, first off, this isn't a new chapter. The fic is complete, and this is more of a notification than anything else.

I know I've spoken to a few of my readers about this already, and they'd shown interest, so I decided to add a post to the end of this fic. I have written a full length book. I totally understand if you're now scrabbling for the back button on your browser, so I'll be quick and to the point.

The book is called, 'Disparities,' self-published for Kindle under the pen name Elizabeth Cartwright. Here's a blurb:

_Essentially on their own after the death of their mother, Lucy and Riley Rossen are left with little choice but to travel all the way to Hawaii to live with a man they barely know. As it turns out, their mother's high school friend is a multi-billionaire with more compassion than they could possibly have expected, and it’s there that they fall into a life with Skylar Anderton and his two closest friends. But Lucy fears she may jeopardize what they’ve found when she falls for Anderton’s nineteen year old protégé, and so she quickly realizes that this new life may not be quite as easy as she’d hoped._

_  
_Check the price in your region, but it's of a reasonable price everywhere as far as I know. I completely understand if you're interested but don't want to pay. In THAT case, follow me on social media. The book will be free at some point within the next couple of weeks, and I'll notify on Tumblr/Facebook/Twitter when I know when that day will be.

Obviously from my perspective I'd love for people to buy it, but I understand not everyone has the money, or even likes my writing that much.

Here's how to find me:

Facebook - search for the page Elizabeth Cartwright.

Tumblr - ellie.cartwright

Twitter - Cartwright_El

 

I think that's everything. If you made it to the end, thank you so much <3 I love you all :)


End file.
